Lifeless
by aph.titans
Summary: On that day, mankind received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the Titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls. Nobody expected the worst to happen . . . Nobody expected so much death and destruction . . . We weren't ready.


On that day, mankind received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the Titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls. Nobody expected the worst to happen . . . Nobody expected so much death and destruction . . . We weren't ready.

They were just children. Most of them, anyways. In Wall Maria, our cast live peacefully. Nobody had any knowledge of nations, or ethnicities, as everyone lived together. In 'peace'. In 'harmony'.

"Alfred wait up!" A small blond boy, aged only nine years old, chased after his much faster twin. "Mom said you have to stay with me!" With a huff, the other boy stopped running, turning to look at his smaller brother.

"Fine. But Francis is over there and you _know_ how much food he gives us!" Alfred exclaimed excitedly. His twin, Matthew, nodded in agreement.

"I do know that, but think of it this way, if we go together, maybe you'll see Arthur too." Matthew knew this was unlikely, but it always got Alfred to cooperate. The nine year old had a rather embarrassing crush on fourteen year old Arthur; yet Alfred could easily tease Matthew right back. The purple-eyed boy used to have a crush on Francis - who was currently fifteen, but his interest had faltered as he grew up. With a excited nod, Alfred stood still, waiting for Matthew to catch up.

"Mattie hurry!"

Neither twin had expected the ground to shake so vigorously, causing them to lose their footing and fall to the mud covered pathway.

"MATHIEU! ALFRED!" Francis and Arthur came running over, picking the twins up.

"We have to go, now!" Arthur exclaimed, his face contorted into one of panic and worry. Alfred just looked up at him in pure confusion, whilst Matthew cuddled into Francis, refusing to look around. Both twins were scared, but neither had known the true horror that was happening around them.

"Why? Where's mom?" Alfred's baby blue eyes darted around, taking in everything that was going on. Screaming people, rocks and boulders scattered around. It was terrifying.

"There's no time to explain, Alfred, we have to go!" With that said, Francis and Arthur hurried through the streets, dodging crying townspeople and climbing over boulder after boulder. Matthew and Alfred shared a look, before closing their eyes, wishing everything would go back to normal.

It had seemed that Alfred and Matthew had fallen asleep, for when they woke up, they were huddled in a blanket on a crammed boat, Arthur and Francis keeping protective arms around the twins. It was then that Alfred made the mistake of glancing back to where they came from. He saw them. The giants. Ugly, ten foot giants with weird faces and blood stained mouths, scooping people up from the ground and gulping them down quickly. His usually tanned face paled, and he began to cry. As soon as Matthew realised what was going on, he too began to wail and clutch onto Francis. Many people around them hissed at Francis and Arthur to make the children shut up, but no matter how hard they tried, the twins cried louder.

Arthur sat in a deathening silence, thinking about what had happened. His little brother, Peter, had been crushed when a boulder fell, and now he had nobody. Just as he thought this, a hand clasped onto his shoulder, and he turned to see Francis smiling sympathetically at him.

"Just me and you now, mon cher." Francis whispered, squeezing his shoulder gently as a sign of comfort.

"I want my mom!" Alfred sobbed, gripping Arthur's faded green shirt in his hands.

"Mommy!" Matthew added, burying his face in Francis' chest. Their lives had forever been changed, and soon enough, they would know what to do, but for now - they lived in hatred of those giants. The ones that ruined their lives.

Nobody knew it was going to happen. Yet Yao still blamed himself for his siblings' deaths.

"I'll be back in an hour!" Yao called out, before getting hugs from all five of his little siblings, Leon, Xiao, Kasem, Im Yong and Chung. After that, he walked out, making sure to lock the front door behind him. The man was of oriental decent, something that was rare in the Walls, and so his siblings had to be protected at all costs. Everyone had heard the story of the Ackerman family . . . Whilst walking, he picked up stray pieces of wood, knowing he'd need them for the fire.

 _'I wonder what I'll make for dinner.'_ He thought to himself, as the breeze ruffled his long, deep brown hair. All of a sudden, the ground shook violently, and all of the wood Yao had collected scattered on the floor.

"Aiyah," Yao mumbled, annoyed, as he leaned down to try and pick the wood up. It was then that he heard the screaming, and stared around to see people running away with their children bundled in their arms.

"THE TITANS!" One screamed as he ran past Yao. "THE TITANS HAVE BREACHED THE WALL!" It suddenly dawned on him what had happened, and - immediately dropping the wood - Yao began to sprint back to his home. It was by the Wall. His siblings.

"Please be okay . . ." Yao begged as he turned the corner, but then screeched to a halt. He let out a heartbreaking scream at the sight. His house had been completely crushed, and he could see Xiao's hair sticking out, Im Yong's shoes still attatched to his foot, Kasem's glasses smashed on the floor, and Chung's arm.

 _'Where's Leon?'_ Yao thought desperately, looking around for his little brother. Then, a tiny voice came calling from the side of the house.

"Y-Yao?" The brunette man immediately ran over and scooped Leon up into his arms, crying as he started to run away, leaving behind his dead siblings and destroyed house. "What's happening?" The small boy asked, looking up at Yao in fear.

"Something bad, Leon, just give it some time, okay?" The brunette boy nodded and cuddled into Yao. Eventually, the two had gotten onto a boat leading out of Shiganshina, and Yao made sure that Leon couldn't turn around to see the Titans, unlike two twins across from him. The crying was annoying, but unlike others around him, he didn't have the heart to tell them to stop. He just wanted to protect Leon. His only remaining family.


End file.
